Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Given New $128.00 Price Target at Mizuho

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price objective hoisted by Mizuho from $112.00 to $128.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

ALB has been the subject of several other reports. Bank of America raised Albemarle from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price objective for the company from $137.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Albemarle from a buy rating to a hold rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen cut shares of Albemarle from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and cut their price target for the stock from $220.00 to $130.00 in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Vertical Research lowered Albemarle from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, March 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $175.85.

Albemarle Trading Up 2.2 %

ALB opened at $128.10 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $15.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.65. Albemarle has a 52 week low of $106.69 and a 52 week high of $247.44. The business’s 50 day moving average is $123.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.09). Albemarle had a net margin of 4.02% and a return on equity of 14.53%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $10.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Albemarle will post 2.86 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently 58.18%.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Assetmark Inc. acquired a new position in Albemarle during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. USCF Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Albemarle by 2,942.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 213 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets engineered specialty chemicals worldwide. It operates through three segments: Energy Storage, Specialties and Ketjen. The Energy Storage segment offers lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, and lithium chloride; technical services for the handling and use of reactive lithium products; and lithium-containing by-products recycling services.